The 2022 Grand Finals between the San Francisco Shock and the Dallas Fuel was the most competitive in Overwatch League history, drawing massive viewership and thrilling fans with a 4-3 series that ended in the Fuel’s favor. To spice up the offseason, the teams will be running it back in a new way.
San Francisco and Dallas are set to compete in a best-of-seven showmatch on Dec. 26 at 10pm CT, the Shock announced today. The teams will be live at a LAN event in South Korea. Most importantly, this could be our first look at the new Shock and Fuel rosters for the 2023 Overwatch League season.
In the initial announcement, San Francisco confirmed that the team’s new roster will be participating in the offseason event. Only three players from the 2022 roster still remain signed with the Shock: MVP and Rookie of the Year Kim “Proper” Dong-hyun and support duo Oh “Finn” Se-jin and Park “Viol2t” Minki.
Considering the Shock culled most of its big talents from Overwatch Contenders Korea team O2 Blast last season—and acquired the organization as its academy team in 2022—most fans are expecting San Francisco to pick up more talented rookies from O2 in 2023.
Dallas has not yet commented on who will be playing in the Dec. 26 showmatch. Currently, all members of the Dallas Fuel—including its coaches—are unrestricted free agents, meaning they can hear offers from any team in the league. Whether the championship-winning roster will make another appearance here remains to be seen.
Barring any additional delays, the free agency period for the Overwatch League begins on Dec. 23. Teams can officially sign and announce their acquisitions after this date.
The event is described as a “best-of-seven with a twist,” indicating some fun rounds of play beyond the usual Overwatch League format may be included. You can tune in at 10pm CT on Dec. 26 to see what the teams have been cooking.
